Last week I managed to get to the TNA at Kew to inspect some recently released files. The files were all Norwegian SOE men. Two of the files had been heavily redacted to the point that many Norwegian names had been removed despite these people having passed away years ago and indeed having their own HS9 file and operational files in the TNA, which are unredacted as they were opened a few years back. German and Norwegian Quisling names had also been redacted, again despite these people having passed away many years ago.

It would seem that new files being opened are subject to very harsh, and in my opinion, unnecessary and pointless redaction. I think it would be fair to state that those long-dead folk hardly present a threat to British national security or indeed anyone's security. it would be interesting to see if anyone else has had similar experiences.

For some reason Britain seem to be the world's immigration centre for 'popes at the gate'! It would thus appear that amidst this dire economic recession in Britain we have found a huge area of growth. We could be a world leader!

On the plus side it is possible to get round the redactions if the agent is associated with other areas - for example Op Vestige. There were several ops under this general title but one can check out the various ops and obtain the names they want and then compare with the redacted HS9 file - basically one can then fill in the blanks...literally. With the old HS9 files there is the chance that it has been 'weeded' but usually there is enough to go on. It's a shame that these heavy redactions are now taking place, but with careful thought and a little extra research one can still make progress. And if that fails there's always the files in Norway and Sweden to check.